Ministers approve use of powerful new Taser which can issue two shots rather than one

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Ministers have given the go-ahead for police to be equipped with more powerful Taser guns which carry two stun probes instead of one.

The new non-lethal weapons would allow trained officers to take a second shot at a target if the first Taser probe misses, as is frequently the case with the current one-shot model.

Police already use the Taser X26 model in the UK but the manufacturer has stopped making it and a new design is being sought.

Home Office minister Brandon Lewis said the new X2 model has passed all the necessary tests and carrys new features, including a five-second cut off warning to prevent a shock continuing too long, which could make it safer.

Brandon LewisCredit:
REX

In a statement Mr Lewis said: "This Government is committed to giving the police the tools they need to do their job effectively, and where modern specialist equipment like [Tasers] are used, to ensure our officers have access to the best and most appropriate technology.

"The decision to authorise the TASER X2 follows stringent consideration of strategic, ethical, operational and societal issues, including an assessment of environmental factors."

The new model has been approved despite a number of deaths associated with the use of the devices. At least eleven deaths in the UK have been associated with Tasers, although some only played a contributory factor.

A Taser gunCredit:
Getty

Medical research into the X2 undertaken by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons found that on balance it would be a suitable replacement for the older model but called for a review of a number of features when the device is introduced.

It warned that police officers may accidentally launch a second probe while trying to reactivate the first charge which has already been released, a method which is not recommended.

The review also stated the new gun could "induce a greater degree of muscle contraction and a greater sensation of pain" because the pulses can be more powerful than the older model if three probes rather than two connect to a subject.

A police officerCredit:
PA

In theory this could happen if the first shot connects but does not work properly and a second shot is fired, delivering 38Hz rather than 19Hz to the person.

"The greater muscle contraction may increase the risk of musculoskeletal injury, including sprains and spinal compression fractures. The greater muscle contraction may also influence the manner in which a subject falls when exposed to discharge and may alter the nature and frequency of fall-associated injuries compared with the TASER X26 CED", it added.